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Seller's Guide

Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home.

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced team of real estate agents and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. Our team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your team of real estate agents.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. We will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. We will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your team of real estate agents to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Our Testimonials

See why our clients love working with us.
Janice M.

Janice M.

Tim Smith Real Estate Group is extremely professional and personable. They are responsive and understand the marketplace. I enjoyed working with Tim Smith and his team and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I highly recommend Ti...
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Wendi C.

Wendi C.

I was very happy with my experience with Tim Smith and his team. They are the epitome of professionalism. From the introductory presentation, to getting the house ready to show, including photography, staging the entire house (...
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Margi R.

Margi R.

Working with with Tim Smith Real Estate Group was such a pleasure, a totally positive experience! They're creative, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and trustworthy throughout the entire process of finding our home and closing. We ...
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Gus R.

Gus R.

Tim Smith Real Estate Group is amazing! They're knowledgeable of the Newport Beach area and well connected. They're direct with you and help you arrive at the proper value for the properties you are considering.
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Kevin W. & Michael H.

Kevin W. & Michael H.

We are so extremely pleased with our decision to have Mahlia Rittenhouse and Tim Smith represent us in the sale of our home. They surely rank among the finest real estate professionals available in South Orange County. We are v...
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Chris D.

Chris D.

This is our second transaction with Tim Smith Real Estate Group. Tim and his team constantly raise the bar and redefine success. As I approached our most recent transaction my expectations were not only matched but exceeded. Ti...
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Jared M.

Jared M.

Tim Smith knows everyone and everything about real estate in Southern California. His experience and connections in the industry give his clients a full and unobstructed view of all the available real estate options. Tim Smith ...
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Jan B.

Jan B.

Before choosing Tim Smith as my realtor I had interviewed several candidates. Upon receiving an impressive email recommendation about Tim from one of my trusted advisors, my decision was made. He followed through with exactly w...
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Buyer & Seller

Buyer & Seller

It is my pleasure to recommend Tim Smith Real Estate Group as a real estate team for any individual or family wanting to sell their home and or searching for their ideal home. I knew from the very moment we all sat down that th...
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Seller

Seller

Tim met every objective that he stated he would make. He said that within three days we would have an offer: the reality was, in three days we had an offer. Although you can call it luck, it also has a lot to do with his way.
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Seller

Seller

It was a smooth transaction from beginning to end. My home sold in four months with several offers for 97% of list price. Tim used his expert negotiation skills and market knowledge to get me the highest net proceeds. Tim worke...
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Jill T.

Jill T.

Tim Smith has taken care of the sale of my last three houses. His hard work with the incredible marketing he does and knowledge of what it takes to sell a home if first rate. Tim Smith Real Estate Group is professional and goes...
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David W.

David W.

Without Tim Smith Real Estate Group we wouldn't have been able to buy the exact home we wanted in our dream neighborhood. Tim Smith utilized his local knowledge and market savvy to craft a competitive offer the first day our ho...
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John L.

John L.

Tim and his team are the best! They worked extremely hard to market my house and find the right buyers who were financially able to complete the transaction. Tim has a keen awareness of the market and suggested we lower the pri...
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Mike B.

Mike B.

As a home buyer, seller, and investor, I've dealt with many agents over the years. Not one of them remotely compares with Tim Smith and his team. The experience of selling two properties within 90 days turned out to be absolute...
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Alex B.

Alex B.

Tim Smith Real Estate Group uses data to understand market pricing and industry trends. They are extremely helpful in guiding the seller through the entire sales cycle. Plus, they are cool people. I am happy to recommend Tim an...
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Frank A.

Frank A.

Tim Smith Real Estate Group is your best choice. Tim and his team are outstanding, they know the real estate market, and they’re number one in Orange County. You’ll be well taken care of and extremely happy with the results.
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Carlos L.

Carlos L.

Truly amazing group to work with. I closed three transactions with them, and everything went as smooth as it can be. I very highly recommend Tim Smith Real Estate Group.
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Michael S.

Michael S.

When we made the decision to sell our favorite home, the home where our family and friends were able to enjoy the world class Balboa-Newport Beach area for over ten years, a friend assured me that Tim Smith of Tim Smith Real Es...
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Will H.

Will H.

Tim Smith Real Estate Group delivers on what they promise in their promotional materials. Never have I experienced real estate professionals with such follow-through. After listing the home for over one year with no results, th...
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